Inductors are passive electrical components that are configured to generate a magnetic field that stores energy. Inductors are used in a wide variety of integrated circuit applications including radio frequency (RF) circuits such as low-noise amplifiers, voltage-controlled oscillators, and power amplifiers. Inductors having relatively small values are often built directly on integrated circuits using existing integrated chip fabrication processes. For example, an integrated inductor may be formed using one or more back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) metal interconnect layers.
Inductor designers are commonly interested in an inductance as well as a quality factor (Q-factor) of an integrated inductor. The inductance of an integrated inductor is a measure of an amount of energy stored in an inductor. The Q-factor is a ratio of an amount of energy stored in an inductor to the amount of energy dissipated in the inductor (e.g., an ideal inductor has a high Q-factor).